Lucknow: Helmet-less bikers ride high on bizarre excuses

TNN | Updated: Jun 27, 2019, 8:31 IST

Image used for representational purpose

LUCKNOW: The list of people biking without helmets in the city is long. The list of their excuses is not just longer, but borders bizarre. While some offer religious and medical reasons for ditching the protective headgear, others are more inclined towards saving their hairdos than their lives. As many as 17,000 have been fined for not wearing helmets in the city since a concerted crackdown began nearly two weeks ago.

Traffic inspector Krishna Murari Sharma said the sustained drive had prompted many two-wheeler riders to reluctantly sport the helmet at checkpoints, but lame excuses sporadically kept policemen on duty entertained. One of the most hilarious excuses was furnished by one Mohammad Nafees Ahmed who was caught at Hazratganj crossing. "I have come from Kanpur. I don't know traffic rules in this city," Ahmed told cops. Kamlesh Kumar, a traffic officer, said when he stopped a biker recently at IT crossing, the latter cried migraine and wanted to be let off. The ingenuity shown by bikers is often not easy to beat. "My wife is admitted to Vivekanand Polyclinic. I forgot to carry the helmet in a hurry. Also, I don't have a single penny to pay as fine. Please let me go or take my bike away," pleaded Vivek Shukla at IT crossing. Arindam Sharma of Maharashtra stumped a sub-inspector at Munshipulia crossing when he asked the cop to talk to his dad, apparently a CISF officer in Mumbai, over phone. Traffic constables on duty in various parts of the city told TOI that the two most common excuses were "bereavement in the family" and "medical emergency". An exciting exchange took place between a scooterist and a cop recently at IT crossing. "My relative has passed away and I am rushing to the cremation," the woman said. The policeman on duty, MP Singh, was smarter than she thought. "The way you are dressed, it seems you are going to a party," he retorted to which the woman admitted she was lying.